Yogeshwari Srimad Bhagvat Gita: A Yogic Commentary

" With these yogic principles to know Time,

alone -

How long shall I call

and who will listen?

Seeing me as almost limited in time,

Will anyone believe

that I'm speaking about Time Itself? "

The ancient sages, or rishis recognized the three states of creation, and introduced the presiding deities of these three states: Brahma - the creator of the world, Vishnu - the perserver and Shiva , the destroyer. If we look at this symbolism from a scientific point of view, we discover a totally different meaning to it.

Matter is the basic building block of the world; wherever we look, we find matter in myriad of forms. On both microscopic and macroscopic scales, matter pervades the whole cosmos. Brahma word literally means Infinitely Vast. It symbolizes the vastness of matter, the foundation of this whole creation. Or we can say that the sages gave the name Brahma to the inherent consciousness of conscious matter.

We've read in the scriptures that Lord Vishnu is bearing the whole creation, and also sustaining it. When we think about it, the entity which bears or contains matter is empty space, or void. Even when we study atom - the smallest unit of matter, we find that there is emptiness between the nucleus and the electrons revolving around it. This void, or emptiness is the basis for matter's motion. The sages identified this ability of Void to hold matter and gave the consiousness of this conscious emptiness the name, Vishnu.

When we break down matter into smallest units, we reach subatomic particles, and when even those are further broken down, we discover pure energy. Investigating this pure energy in order to find its true source, we find that energy originates from pure thought. This pure thought, which we can also call the consciousness of matter, originates from conscious emptiness. This pure thought is the link which brings matter and void together.

The element, which is beyond both matter and void, which pervades both matter and emptiness and yet is the cause for their destruction, which is beyond everything and still ever-present with us, which is motionless still appears to be moving, which our consciouness experiences in different forms due to difference in our levels, that element which is Time or Kaal was identified as Shiva by the sages. Time is that element which we experience all the time, yet it always seems beyond all experiences. Matter's time is said to be finite. The time of emptiness, which holds matter was also realized by the sages. But who can understand the time of Time, save Time Itself!

Sometimes we contemplate about the time when there was no creation, no universe, no good or bad, nothing; what existed then? Those who have practiced even a little bit of yoga and have been successful in awaking their dormant consciousness realize that what existed then was in the womb of Time and how did it get there, no one except Time Itself can tell. May be that's why sages envisioned Lord Shiva with both male and female principles, as the Ardhanarishwara. This leads us to conclude that Time Itself impregnated Time, and in due course took birth in the form of this creation. When Time's time comes to an end, only Time shall remain...

Excerpts from the Commentary

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Death is that frontier through which, the Great man who has developed his consciousness beyond all limits transcends from his physical limited existence to become Infinite Himself.

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Female body is created completely for the purpose of motherhood - it is this great body which carries out the great task of manifesting an unmanifested consciousness through the medium of a physical body.

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The body which at one time was the sole support of our life, both before our birth and after it - to be not fascinated by that female body is infact, a matter of surprise.

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Climbing the steps of knowledge, those who finally understood life were able to detach themselves from its lures and were called Jivanmukta - liberated from life.